Grant to build 'Judy Center' at Bester

December 21, 2000

Grant to build 'Judy Center' at Bester

Washington County Public Schools were awarded a nearly $650,000 state grant to set up a Judy Hoyer Family Learning Center, a facility that will provide educational services to preschoolers and also offer adult literacy programs and family health services.

The "Judy Center" will be located at Bester Elementary School.

The Maryland State Department of Education requires the centers to be at easily accessible sites and near high concentrations of low-income or non-English speaking families.

The school system is one of 13 in the state to receive the competitive grant. Seventeen school systems out of 24 applied for the grant.

The center is named after Judith P. Hoyer, the late wife of Congressman Steny Hoyer.

The facility will be funded from January 2001 to June 2002 with renewable one-year extensions until June 2005. The school system will receive $646,667 for the first year in two installments of $323,333.50, said Linda Bazerjian, communications specialist, for the Maryland State Department of Education.

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The grant would total about $2.2 million over the five years.

County Commissioners recently agreed to pay a salary of about $65,000 a year for five years for the center's project manager. The Board of Education will fund the project manager's benefits package.

Some programs that could be offered are pre-kindergarten, Head Start, literacy training, child care, family support centers and a health department.

The first center was dedicated last December in Prince George's County.